Letter-envelope



Nov. 16,1965 D. E. MGNr-:Lls 3,217,972

LETTER-ENVELOPE Filed April 25, 1963 INVENTOR.

United States Patent O 3,217,972 LETTER-ENVELOPE Donald E. McNelis, 6131 Indigo St., Houston, Tex. Filed Apr. 25, 1963, Ser. No. 275,548 1 Claim. (Cl. 229-92.1)

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in stationery products and particularly to a stationery product which provides a detachable letter, invoice or the like from the envelope closure flap.

In the past, various arrangements have been proposed for combining a letter, invoice, order form or other type of page with an envelope; however, such prior attempts have had several serious defects which have resulted in tearing or other damage to the page in handling or opening the envelope, as well as inconvenience and expense in the printing and use thereof.

An object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved stationery product in which a letter, invoice, order form, or the like and an envelope are formed from a single sheet with the letter, invoice, order form or the like being detachable from the envelope closure ap.

Still another object of the present invention is to provied a new and improved stationery product in which an envelope is attached to a letter, invoice or the like in such a manner that the letter, invoice or the like is typed and the envelope addressed in a single operation without removing the stationery product from the typewriter.

' Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved stationery product in which multiple pages are detachably connected to the envelope by a detachable connection between the envelope and one of the pages.

A particular object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved stationery product in which printed materialsuch as the letterhead imprinted on the letter and the return address imprinted on the envelope may be, printed with a single plate in a single printing operation.

The preferred embodiment of this invention will be described hereinafter, together with other features thereof, and additional objects will become evident from such description.

The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawings forming `a part thereof wherein an example of the invention is shown -'and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating construction details of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a layout view illustrating the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, but prior to assembly, and

FIG. 3 is a layout view illustrating an alternate embodiment of the present invention, prior to assembly.

In FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings, the letter A designates generally the stationery product of the present invention, and the letter L designates the letter, invoice, order form or other type of page portion which is adapted to be suitably attached to the envelope portion E of the present invention. The letter page L and the envelope E are detachably connected together for printing, typing or otherwise impressing thereon written characters or figures in a single operation while being thereafter readily separable for providing an envelope E in which the page portion L may be inserted for mailing or other use.

Considering now the invention more in detail, a layout or pattern 12 (FIG. 2) is preferably cut from a single piece or sheet of paper or other similar material for forming the letter page L and the envelope E as a unit. The envelope E has a front section 14 which may be provided 3,217,972 Patented Nov. 16, 1965 with a transparent or open window W for exposing the inside address of the letter or other correspondence inserted in the envelope E or, if it is desired, the window W may be omitted and the mailing address or the identification of the contents of the envelope may be imprinted on the face or front 14 thereof. The envelope E also comprises a back 16, end aps 17 and 18, and a closure or sealing flap 19 for closing and sealing the envelope E after its contents have been placed therein.

In the preferred form of this invention, the letter page L and the envelope E are formed of the same sheet of paper 12 which has perforations P extending horizontally across the sheet 12 defining the lower edge of the letter page L and the upper edge 19a of the sealing flap 19. The perforations P provided between the letter L and the envelope flap 19 hold the envelope E in xed relationship to the letter L for printing or typing and the like while also providing a means for readily and easily separating the letter L from the envelope E after the written material has been imprinted or impressed thereon..

The letter portion L of the paper 12, of any suitable size, is preferably a single sheet although it may be folded to form multiple pages as illustrated in FIG. 1. In the form of this invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings, the letter page L is connected at its top to a copy page C which is formed integrally or suitably attached to the letter page L from the sheet 12 along a fold 20. Carbon paper or the like may be inserted between the letter page L and the copy page C for imprinting the copy page C and such carbon paper may be secured to the page 12 at or near the fold 20 as may be desired. Also, perforations P may be formed as shown on opposite sides of the fold 20 and preferably equidistant therefrom for easily and readily separating the letter page L and the copy page C from each other and from the carbon paper therebetween if used.

Considering next the front View of the assembled letterenvelope (FIG. 1) in more detail, it will be seen that the envelope E is formed by folding the back section 16 on the line 16a and the end flaps 17 and 18 along the lines 17a and 18a, respectively. The letter page L and copy page C may be properly aligned by folding the sheet 12 along the line 20 which is substantially perpendicular to the sides 12a and 12b of the sheet 12. It should be noted that the sheet 12 may be folded along the line 20 in such manner that the copy page C receives the original typing or other impression and the letter page portion L receives the carbon copy of such typing or other impression.

With the device of this invention folded and assembled as illustrated in FIG. 1 a letterhead or other identification or advertising may be printed on the letter page portion L and a return address or other material may be printed on the envelope E from a single plate and in a single pass through the printing apparatus. Also, in typing or otherwise making impressions on the letter page L and the envelope E may be handled as a single unit thereby eliminating the duplication involved in printing or typing the letter page portion separately from the envelope E.

Thus, in using the letter-envelope A in a standard typewriter or the like, the letter portion L is typed upon and it gradually is fed around from the typing portion of the typewriter so that the front section 14 of the envelope E moves into position for typing the address and other information thereon. The letter-envelope A is withdrawn from the typewriter and the sheet 12 is torn along the perforation P or other suitable connecting means to separate the letter page L from the envelope E. If one or more copy pages C are provided they may also be separated from the letter L by tearing the perforations P or otherwise separating the copy or copies C from the letter page L. The letter page L and one or more copies of the copy page C may be inserted in the envelope E for storage or mailing or other similar operation and the sealing flap 19 folded along the line 19b and sealed in contact with the back section 16 of the envelope by adhesive or other suitable means.

It is to be noted that the closing flap 19 has tapered or inclined side edges 19C because, preferably, the width of the letter portion L is less than the width of the envelope E or, stated differently, the width of the letter portion L is less than the length of the envelope opening formed when the end sections 17 and 18 are folded in and adhered to the back section 16 (FIG. 1). Such construction facilitates the insertion of the letter portion L, and the carbon copy or copies C in some instances, into the envelope E.

Considering next the form of the invention illustrated in FIG. 3 of the drawings, it will be noted that the envelope E-l comprises a front section 33, a back section 34, end ilaps 3S and 36 and a closure and sealing flap 37 which is attached to the letter page L-1 or formed integrally therewith. Perforations P-1 are provided between the sealing flap 37 and the letter page L-1 which perforations are positioned along the line substantially parallel with a portion of one side of the letter page L-1. This arrangement is particula-rly adaptable for use in correspondence and the like where a copy of the letter or memorandum prepared on the letter page L-1 is not desired or required such as in handwritten correspondence, in some forms of advertising and in hotel stationery.

It is noted that the distance from the perforations P-1 to the edge 40 of the page L-1 is approximately the same, and preferably slightly less than the width of the envelope E-l when assembled as in FIG. l, or stated differently, the width of the letter L-l is preferably less than the envelope opening provided by the envelope E-l when the side sections 35 and 36 are folded in and adhered to the back section 34.

The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention is illustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the size, shape, and materials as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

A stationery product comprising a sheet of paper having.

(a) a rst portion forming a rectangular letter-size writing page for receiving an impression marked thereon, said rectangular letter-size writing page having parallel side edges and also having parallel upper and lower ends which are perpendicular to the side edges,

(b) a second portion comprising an envelope including:

(1) a front face,

(2) a pair of end sections formed at opposite edges of said front face,

(3) a back section formed at one edge of said front face and extending between said end sections, the free edge of said back section terminating approximately at the upper edges of said en-d sections when folded into an envelope,

(4) a sealing flap formed on the opposite side of said front face from said back section, said sealing flap having one edge thereof detachably connected to said letter-size writing page,

(5) said envelope having an opening therein between said front face and said back section adadjacent to said sealing flap which has a greater width than the width of the page from one side edge to the other, the width of said sealing ap being greater at its juncture with said front face than the width of said letter-size writing page to facilitate the insertion of said page into said envelope,

(6) the end edges of said sealing flap being tapered towards each other and each edge being on an angle extending inwardly from approximately its juncture with said front face to approximately its juncture with the lower end of said lettersize writing page,

(7) the width of the letter-size writing page being less than the width of the opening in the envelope so that it ts into the envelope by folding only along folds that are parallel to the upper and lower ends of the writing page, and

(c) a perforated tear portion detachably connecting the lower end of said letter-size writing page to the upper edge of said sealing flap.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 503,628 8/1893 Webb 229-92] 846,988 3/1907 Farmer 229-927 893,202 7/1908 Shaw. 2,558,813 7/1951 Brechner 229-73 2,686,005 8/1954 Hyman 229-73 3,131,854 5/ 1964 Deutschmeister 229-73 GEORGE O. RALSTON, Primary Examiner.

FRANKLIN T. GARRETT, Examiner. 

